June 1928
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
366
Sorrowing disciples gathered up his blood-stained remains and bore them to a grave to await the resurrection morn. But something had happened which they did not perceive. The mantle of the mar tyred deacon had fallen upon a man of Tarsus who had been holding his per secutors’ garments. There are indications all through Paul’s letters that many o f the expressions used by Stephen were indelibly engraved upon his soul (cf. Acts 17:24; 2 Tim. 4:16). The zealot o f the Pharisees was to be come the great Christian apostle. Ste phen’s defense was apparently unsuccess ful, but now we see that his argument was not lost. When, not long afterward, Saul was on the road to Damascus, there can be no doubt but that this scene flashed across his mind and the address of Ste phen, used by the Holy Spirit, taught Him the significance o f the Gospel o f Christ. Augustine says that if Stephen had not prayed, Saul probably would not have been converted. W e may add that if Stephen had' not taken the particular line o f argument he did, Saul might not have become the apostle of the Gentiles. Recall Saul’s Pharisaic training. He would very naturally, on becoming a Christian, join the circumcision party. Was not Stephen’s .speech a means of giving him, from the first, the broader view? Note the similarity between the arguments of Stephen and Paul in deal ing with the Judaizers. What a comfort this should be to the man who fears that his words for Christ are fruitless and forgotten! Dr. Taylor says: “A word is always a seed; and that which we have spoken in the ear may by and by be pro claimed by someone mightier than we from the housetop.!’ Let the persecutors learn that their efforts are useless. They may think they have succeeded'. The preacher may have been murdered in cold blood or hastened to an untimely grave in broken health, but the truth which he has uttered cannot be killed. God makes the wrath o f man to praise Him. By His infinite wisdom He can bring unlimited good out o f the attacks o f the wicked. — o — C an Y ou A nswer T hese ? What objections did the Pharisees and Sad'ducees have to the Gospel of Christ? What was there in the message of Stephen that especially riled the orthodox Jews? What good points do you find in the Christian character of Stephen? How did Saul of Tarsus happen to be an enemy of Stephen? What charges were preferred against deacon Stephen? What was the main point o f Stephen’s argument before the Sanhedrin? . Did the Jews have the right to carry out the death sentence? What part did Saul take in the death of Stephen? Would this involve him in the guilt? Was it worth while for Stephen to suffer and' die as he did? What probably from the first disposed Paul toward preaching to Gentiles? What is persecution o f Christians bound to accomplish if it is borne in the spirit of Christ?
The main charge against Stephen was that he uttered “ blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” It seems clear that he must have been in sisting upon the temporary nature o f the law and the spirituality of true worship. They imputed to his words meanings which were farthest from his mind, just as prejudiced hearers or readers will still do with the words o f Christian teachers. Our Lord Himself had His utterances perverted into utterances of blasphemy. Stephen’s adversaries became more and more vindictive. Perhaps he knew what it was to receive anonymous letters, to' be threatened if he did not get out of town, and to be boycotted. At last they found a . way to get the law on him. They caught him, and hauling him before the Sanhedrin, preferred a charge o f blas phemy. The angry crowd surged into the courtroom. Oriental rage is always accompanied with tremendous racket. In the midst of the hooting, hissing and yell ing, all was calm within Stephen’s breast. “ They saw his face as it had been the face o f an angel.” This seemed to silence them, and in answer to the high priest’s question, he entered' upon his defense. A t first sight Stephen’s address seems to give no sort of answer to the charges. The careful student, however, will notice that in his brief resume o f leading in cidents of Jewish history, he was making history do the arguing. It was a skill fully constructed speech. He was carry ing out a parallel between the treatment which Moses had received at the hands of his people and that which his own hearers had given to Jesus Christ. They did not fail to see themselves in the mirror. His concluding words came with terrible effect upon their ears. “ Ye stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and cars, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost : as your fathers did, so do y e.": He was at their bar, but he arraigned them all at the bar of God. He came down so hard upon the sore spot in their consciences that they arose up in rage. They "gnashed upon him with their teethMSe They hustled him out o f the hall, straight to the place of public execution. It was a lawless proceeding. The right to inflict capital punishment had been taken away from them by the Roman government. They began to stone him. Stephen was absolutely calm in the con sciousness o f his Saviour’s presence. “He, being full o f the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory o f God and Jesus standing on the right hand o f God and said, I see the heavens opened and the Son o f man standing on the right hand o f God” The sound of his voice was drowned with their hooting. Some o f the witnesses pulled o ff their upper garments and hand ed them over to Saul o f Tarsus to hold while they made short work o f this man. Their stones brought Stephen to his knees, but no malediction escaped his lips. He prayed: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” His likeness to our Lord was completed when he added': “Lay not this sin to their charge.” , . Tennyson in his “ Two Voices” says:—
J uly 8 , 1928 Saul and Stephen T ext: Acts 7:54-8:3; 22:19-20. —o— L esson I n O utline Acts 7 :54-8:3; 22:3, 4, 19, 20; 26:4,5,9-11; Gal. 1: 13,14 I. Stephen, the First Christian Martyr. Acts 6 :l- 8 :1a. 1. Stephen, a Deacon at Jerusalem. 6 : 1 - 6 . 2. Stephen, an Evangelist. 6 :8-10. 3. Stephen, the Persecuted Saint. 6 : 11-15. 4. Stephen, the Orator. 7 :l-53. 5. Stephen, the Martyr. 7 :54-60. II. Saul, the Arch-Persecutor. Acts 8 : 1-3; 22:3,4,19,20 ; 26:4,5,9-11; Gal. 1 :13,14. 1. Saul Persecuting the Church in Jerusalem. 8 :lb -3; 22:3, 4, 19, 20. 2. Saul’s Intense Religious Zeal. 26:4,5. 3. S a u l ' s Persecutions in Foreign Places. 26:9-11. 4. Saul’s Eminence in Ancestral Re ligion. Gal. 1 :13,14. AFTER Pentecost the company o f Chris- 7 I tian believers continued for some years in visible connection with the Jewish church. To be sure, they clung together, m e e t i n g in private homes regularly for study, prayer and the observance o f t h e Lord’s supper. How ever, t h e y did not break with the ritual of Moses, conform ing to most o f the Jewish customs of the temple. Hence, at first they were not bitterly assailed. The Sadducees, indeed, were uneasy about their proclamation o f the resurrec tion and on two occasions tried to silence the apostles; but Gamaliel’s cautious ad vice helped to arrest persecution for a season. As time went on it became more and more clear to believers that the law of Moses was a temporary covenant, super seded by the enduring system inaugurated by Christ. As these teachings began to come abroad, the Pharisees and Sad ducees, though having no love for each other, combined, to crush Christianity. The first great collision came about through the zeal and ability o f Stephen, who won a martyr’s crown. He is de scribed as a man “full s f faith and power.” It is said that those who disput ed with him were “not able to resist the wisdom and spirit by which he spake.” He was one o f the first deacons, and not content with serving tables, he gave much time and energy to soul-winning. When a deacon gets on fire for souls, he is quite likely to evoke antagonism. Saul of Tarsus belonged to one of the synagogues which Stephen visited. It is probable that Saul was one o f his keenest disputants, for he was in the front rank of the persecutors. While we see Saul in the rage of the controversialists, it cannot be doubted that some of the truths he heard from the lips of deacon^ Stephen were germs;, which, when afterward warmed by the Holy Spirit, sprang up and eventually found full bloom in Paul’s wonderful epistles.
“He heeded not reviling tones, Nor sold his heart to idle moans, Tho’ cursed, and scorned and bruised with stones: But looking upward, full o f grace, He prayed and from a happy place God’s glory smote him on the face.”
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